One of the key challenges in biomedical research and late-stage drug discovery is the lack of appropriate pre-clinical animal models of human disease. The conference Animal Models and Drug Discovery will be jointly presented by Imperial College London, King's College London, and the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) at the NYAS Conference Center in New York on September 15-16, 2011, and will critically examine the traditional role of animal models in drug discovery, how these models most effectively contribute to translational medicine, changes needed to increase the predictive power of models for drug efficacy in humans, and ways in which to further refine, reduce, and replace animal models in translational biomedical research. The multidisciplinary scientific organizing committee comprises experienced scientific researchers and clinicians from diverse fields that employ pre-clinical animal models for therapeutic development, including the PI for this grant: Garret A. FitzGerald, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology;McNeil Professor in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics;Associate Dean for Translational Research;Chair, Department of Pharmacology;Director, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, The University of Pennsylvania. The 2-day program, anticipated to attract up to 250 attendees across a wide span of medicine and health, will be especially timely and exciting given the recent explosion of broadly applicable new technologies in bioimaging, biosimulation, and bioinformatics;the generation of genetically modified animals and emerging non-rodent models;and the use of embryonic stem cells, patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells, and humanized animal models. Thematically, the conference goals align well with NCRR's mission to provide clinical and translational researchers with the training and tools they need to transform basic discoveries into improved human health. This program will also showcase research tools and techniques that serve as the foundation for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, thus also fitting the mission of NIGMS. Lectures, workshops, interactive discussions, networking breaks, and a conference reception and dinner will provide a neutral forum for interaction among multidisciplinary participants who may not otherwise interact at a single scientific meeting and ensure that recent improved pre-clinical animal models with good predictive validity readily become available to the pharmaceutical industry and clinical researchers so as to aid the discovery and development of new disease treatments as quickly as possible. Poster sessions and travel awards will encourage participation of junior/minority investigators and trainees. We expect that the discussions originating from the conference and their dissemination via an open access online multimedia report will ultimately foster advancement in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of a multitude of human diseases. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): This 2-day scientific conference, jointly presented by Imperial College London, King's College London, and the New York Academy of Sciences, will provide a neutral forum to critically examine the traditional role of pre-clinical animal models in drug discovery, how these models most effectively contribute to translational medicine and drug discovery, changes needed to increase the predictive power of various models for drug efficacy in humans, and ways in which to further refine, reduce, and replace animal models in biomedical research. By convening multi-disciplinary clinical and basic science investigators we hope to identify common hurdles and pathways forward to improving model systems for the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy in the areas of metabolic and cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and pain, among others. Sessions on the recent explosion of broadly applicable new technologies in bioimaging, biosimulation, bioinformatics, generating genetically modified animals and phenotype screening along with emerging non- rodent models, the use of embryonic stem cells, patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells, and humanized animal models will ensure that recent advances in basic science knowledge gained from improved pre- clinical animal models with good predictive validity readily become available to the pharmaceutical industry and clinical researchers so as to aid the discovery and development of new disease treatments as quickly as possible.